New York Rangers Lose Lundqvist and the Game

New York Rangers Lose Lundqvist

The New York Rangers lost to the Penguins last night by a score of 5-2. However, the other even more disheartening news is the Rangers lost Henrik Lundqvist and are unsure when he will be reinstated as their starting goalie.

After Marc Staal’s stick hit Henrik in the eye, you could tell the King was in pain. He was squirming all over the ice, eventually skating over to the bench where the training staff took a look at him. After a brief evaluation, some eye drops and a squirt of water, Hank skated back onto the ice and found himself back between the pipes. At this point it seemed as though he would be okay. However, this thought quickly vanished.

Less than a minute after Lundqvist skated back to the crease, Patric Hornqvist went five hole for the Penguins first goal of the game. Once the period ended, Lundqvist was benched and Antti Raanta was placed in goal for the Rangers.

Raanta went on to give up three goals in two periods. One to Crosby on a break away goal, one to Kuhnhackl during a shorthanded 2-on-1 and another to Hornqvist during a Penguins power play. Hornqvist ended the game with an empty net goal to complete his hat trick.

Derek Stepan Continues to Score

Derek Stepan was able to record two goals last night and continues to be one of the main contributing goal scorers for the Rangers. The 25 year old center, has scored 8 goals while manufacturing 8 assists for a total of 16 points over the course of 10 games.

Stepan will need to continue to produce in the offensive zone to give the New York Rangers a chance at moving on to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Stepan may be the hottest Ranger right now, but he will need help and right now it is hard to say which Ranger will step up.

Battle of the Backups

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This series will come down to goaltending and right now the Penguins look to have the upper-hand, which is a bit nonsensical since the Penguins are currently starting their third string netminder.

The New York Rangers have called up Magnus Hellberg from the Hartford Wolf Pack today. He will become Raanta’s backup if Lundqvist is unable to play Saturday afternoon. Second string vs third string. That is what this playoff series seems to be heading towards.

If these goaltenders end up being the story of the series, the Rangers better hope that third string goaltender, Jeff Zatkoff, cools off. He played lights out last night in his first NHL playoff game. Maybe it is beginners luck, maybe the kid is actually a very good goal tender, but one thing is sure, he played at a high level last night and was able to outplay both Raanta and Lundqvist.

Saturday Afternoon

The New York Rangers will have to wait a few days before they will have another chance to steal one from the Penguins, which may be a blessing in disguise. Lundqvist gives the Rangers their best chance at winning and if he is cleared by the training staff and the eye specialist he is visiting this afternoon, then he will return to the Blueshirts and most likely take his place as starter.

Next: Rangers Rely on History and Look for Support

This time off also gives the Penguins time to get back to full strength. This may seem like a negative at first, but the Rangers have been able to overcome Marc-André Fleury the past two postseasons. It may be outlandish, but the Rangers could benefit from seeing Fleury’s familiar mask, since they struggled to get going last night against the Penguins third stringer.